Miriel

Miriel actress Lord of the Rings

Table of contents:

• Character History
• Miriel's biography
• The appearance and image of Miriel
• Miriel in the movies
• Interesting facts

Character History

One of the most compelling characters among those who perished in the fall of Númenor was Miriel, Crown Princess of the land and wife of Ar-Farazon. Before the catastrophe, the queen repented of her disobedience to the Valar and was the last to be swallowed by the giant wave that swept over the once prosperous nation.

History of the character's creation

Miriel is a fictional character from John R.R.R. Tolkien's Legendarium and her biography is described in the book The Silmarillion. The events leading up to The Lord of the Rings were chronicled by the English writer's son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, after his father's death.

In the work, the heroine is also called Tar-Miriel, where tar in Kwenei means "queen" and Miriel means "female jewel". After marrying her cousin, her husband christened his wife Ar Zimrafel in Adunai, which has the same meaning as in Elvish.

The Crown Princess of Numenor is a minor character in the saga, and the author's attention is focused more on the actions of her husband, Ar-Farazon, and the Numenor disaster that resulted from the mistakes of a king blinded by pride and Sauron's charms.

Tolkien himself mentioned in one of his letters that his description of the fall of Numenor was inspired by the myth of Atlantis, which was so deeply rooted in his mind that it kept coming back to him in his dreams.

Miriel's biography

The daughter of the ruler of Númenor, Miriel, as the only child of the Tar-Palantir family, was called to inherit power after her father's death. However, when the 24th King of Numenor passed away, his nephew and cousin Miriel Ar-Farazon found himself in power and forcibly married his sister. Although such close kinship was not welcomed in the state, the union took place.

Tolkien's early texts also mention the betrothal of the Crown Princess to Elintir, son of Numendil, but when she saw Tar-Calion (Ar-Farazon) she could not resist his beauty. However, the writer later abandoned this option, returning a forced marriage to the plot.

Having obtained the coveted power, the new monarch defied Sauron, who declared himself king over the humans, which Ar-Farazon could not tolerate as he considered only himself worthy of the title.

After Sauron surrendered, Tar-Calion and the court retinue fell under the poisonous influence of the Dark Lord. The wizard seduced the ruler with the promise of immortality and tricked him into abandoning his submission to the Valar, cut down the White Tree, and then, breaking the sacred ban, attacked Aman, the continent where the gods dwelled.

When the rebel king's fleet landed on the shores of Valinor, the supreme god and creator of all things, Eru Iluvatar, destroyed the disobedient humans, sank the ships of Ar-Farazon, and sent a huge wave to Numenor, which destroyed the island of Elenna along with all its inhabitants.

The queen, aware of what her husband had done, repented and set out for Mount Meneltharma, where Eru's shrine was located. However, Tar-Miriel did not have time to pray as the sea swept over her on her way. In the novel, it is said that the summit of the mountain remained above water, although the island of Meneltarma itself was never discovered.

The appearance and image of Miriel

Tolkien did not go into much detail about the appearance of the Crown Princess of Numenor in the book, but he did mention her unearthly beauty and bright eyes in passing. Various illustrations also depict the girl as incredibly beautiful, slender and dark-haired, with glowing pale skin and blue eyes.

"Queen Tar-Miriel, more beautiful than silver, ivory or pearls," Tolkien wrote.

Judging by the fact that Miriel was unable to resist the power of Ar-Farazon, who effectively usurped power from her, as well as to influence the king and the court, whose minds were poisoned by Sauron, this character lacked leadership qualities and had a very modest and malleable disposition.

Miriel in the movies

In 2022 Tar-Myriel was brought to the screen. In the Amazon Studios series, the queen of Numenor was played by dark-skinned American actress Cynthia Addy-Robinson.

In addition to her non-canonical appearance, which was immediately criticised by Tolkien critics, the heroine in the series also exhibited unassuming character traits. The daughter of Tar-Palantir in the epic fantasy Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is a regal woman whose political ambition extends almost further than that of Ar Pharaoh.

Cynthia Addai-Robinson's Miriel makes her own decisions, engages in battles and acts as she sees fit. In short, a canonical character has been rewritten to suit a feminist agenda. Despite a storm of negative reviews and criticism, the series, consisting of eight episodes, was released in early September.

Interesting facts

• In the massive project from Amazon, Tar-Myriel had a prophetic dream in which a huge wave hits Numenor.
• At the time of filming in the series Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power. Cynthia Addai-Robinson had reached the age of 37.